On Friday, the Space Development Agency (SDA), a component of the U.S. Space Force, announced it has finalized contracts with four major defense contractors for the construction of 72 satellites. The total value of these agreements is approximately $3.5 billion.
Contract Details and Purpose
Lockheed Martin, L3Harris Technologies, Northrop Grumman, and Rocket Lab USA have each been awarded fixed-price contracts to produce 18 space vehicles. These infrared satellites are designed for missile warning, tracking, and defense applications. They are planned for deployment into low-earth orbit in 2029.
Gurpartap Sandhoo, the agency's Acting Director, stated: "The addition of these satellites will achieve near-continuous global coverage for missile warning and tracking, along with payloads capable of generating fire control quality tracks for missile defense."
Strategic Framework
These satellites are part of the Tranche-3 initiative, supporting the SDA's strategy to launch a new tranche every two years. This approach aims to modernize satellite infrastructure with the latest technological advancements.
In a related development, the first Tranche-1 space vehicle was launched in September from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The agency intends to have 154 operational space vehicles in Tranche-1, with initial warfighting capability expected by 2027.
